The Painting Cups

These cups have been part of my painting process for almost 20 years. It started with my late grandfather buying them to drink coffee in every morning. I shared with him about how styrofoam cups end up in landfills and are bad for the environment and suggested rather than throwing them away he could give them to me. Well, he did. What I discovered in using these cups over a period of time is how incredibly good this material, which keeps coffee hot or iced tea cold was at keeping acrylic paint from drying out for an extended period time –that is, when you covered the contents with another styrofoam cup. Once enclosed, the paint life could be extended by weeks, even a month or so in some case. This can be useful when you see something you want to touch up in painting weeks after you thought you were finished with the piece.

I have dozens of these cups and they will continue to be put to use for as long as possible, but I’ve been thinking about what to with them when I can no longer used them. The idea that comes to mind is to paint them and turn them into some kind of art, but what exactly, I don’t know. Anyway, I’m thinking about it, but for now they are being rolled back into production as they were all those years ago when my grandfather gave them to me.